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Schadow
Vice Admiral
Joined: 30 Sep 2004
Posts: 936
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
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 Posted: Thu May 11, 2006 9:09 pm Post subject: "Way to go, USA Today!" |
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In it's traitorous revelation of the NSA telephone data mining program, the "USA Today" paper pointed out that the only major phone company not participating is Qwest. As John Hinderaker points out in his Powerline article today, NSA Accused of Protecting U.S. From Terrorists, "Way to go, USA Today!"
| Quote: | Liberals are jumping up and down about USA Today's publication of another leak relating to the National Security Agency. It's considered a news flash that the NSA is collecting data on phone calls, with the cooperation of almost all of the major telecom companies, to look for suspicious patterns. This is a "data mining" project that does not involve listening in on conversations, but merely identifying phone numbers involved in possible terrorist communications.
Michelle Malkin has a good roundup of reaction to the story. I'd add just a few comments.
One, as A.J. Strata points out, the USA Today article identified Qwest as the one major carrier that declined the NSA's request for cooperation. Presumably Qwest has now become the terrorists' telecom company of choice. Way to go, USA Today!
Two, it's obvious that what the NSA does with this vast amount of data is to run it through computers, looking for suspicious patterns, especially involving known or suspected terrorist phone numbers. I did a quick calculation: assuming that there are 200 million adult Americans, each of whom places or receives ten phone calls a day (a conservative estimate, I think), it would require a small army of 35,000 full-time NSA employees to pay a total of one second of attention to each call. In other words, lighten up: the NSA obviously isn't tracking your phone calls with your friends and relatives.
Three, it's interesting to juxtapose the NSA stories--this one plus the Agency's international terrorist surveillance program--with this account of a report earlier today by Britain's Intelligence and Security Committee on the subway bombings in London last July:
| Quote: | The suicide bombers who killed 52 passengers on London's transit system had a string of contacts with someone in Pakistan just before striking, Britain's top law enforcement official said Thursday.
However, authorities admitted they didn't know what was discussed in those contacts and stuck with their contention that the blasts were a home-grown plot and that the degree of involvement by al-Qaida, if any, was unknown.
Thursday's report by the Intelligence and Security Committee concluded that intelligence agents had been alerted to two of the suicide bombers before the attacks but limited resources prevented them from uncovering the plot.
Reid [UK spokesman], speaking of the contacts in Pakistan ahead of the attacks, said authorities did not know what was discussed. *** "There are a series of suspicious contacts from an unknown individual or individuals in Pakistan in the immediate run-up to the bombings," Reid said after his department released its narrative of the attacks. "We do not know their content." |
Sounds like they should have listened in on those calls. These are exactly the kind of communications that are intercepted by the NSA under the terrorist surveillance program that has been widely denounced by Democrats. |
Of course, USA Today delayed printing this story until the optimum time to negatively affect General Hayden's confirmation hearings. There is no longer any doubt about the MSM's complicity in increasing the threat to this country, aided by traitors in the Congress and the intel community. All because Al Gore failed to steal an election. Source
Schadow
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Capt, 8th U.S. Army, Korea '53 - '54 |
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dcornutt
PO3
Joined: 26 Aug 2004
Posts: 267
Location: Brooklyn, NY
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| Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 3:04 am Post subject: |
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Schadow buddy.
I've not mentioned this yet. My wife (of 20 years) ..lived in huntsville. I used to hang out there quite a bit. Do you remember "moffits" on University drive?
How about the Old" Hiedleberg resturant? |
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Schadow
Vice Admiral
Joined: 30 Sep 2004
Posts: 936
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
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| Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 5:06 am Post subject: |
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| dcornutt wrote: | | I've not mentioned this yet. My wife (of 20 years) ..lived in huntsville. I used to hang out there quite a bit. Do you remember "moffits" on University drive? How about the Old" Hiedleberg resturant? |
I'll send you a PM tomorrow. S.
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Capt, 8th U.S. Army, Korea '53 - '54 |
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shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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| Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 9:41 am Post subject: |
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This sure is nuts!
I'm sure Al Qaida appreciates the tip-off to change their phone service to Qwest to avoid surveillance.
| Quote: | 'This Is Nuts,' Kyl Says of Leak
BY JOSH GERSTEIN - Staff Reporter of the Sun
May 12, 2006
~SNIP~
Other Republicans on the panel said the real danger was not the surveillance program, but the fact that it was publicized on the front page of one of America's most widely read newspapers.
"This is nuts," Senator Kyl, a Republican of Arizona, said. "We're in a war and we got to collect intelligence on the enemy, and you can't tell the enemy in advance how you're going to do it, and discussing all of this stuff in public leads to that."
The new disclosure also threatened to disrupt confirmation hearings expected later this month for Mr. Bush's nominee for director of central intelligence, General Michael Hayden, who was head of the NSA when the surveillance program began. Several senators said they intend to use those hearings to demand answers about the program.
General Hayden canceled some appointments on Capitol Hill yesterday morning, but later appeared there briefly with Senator McConnell, a Republican of Kentucky. Asked about the reported domestic call-tracking effort, the general said, "All I would want to say is that everything that NSA does is lawful and very carefully done and that the appropriate members of the Congress, House and Senate, are briefed on all NSA activities, and I think I'd just leave it at that," General Hayden said.
The chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, Senator Roberts, a Republican of Kansas, stressed that designated members of Congress were "fully informed of all aspects of the NSA's activities."
"We have received several briefings," Mr. Roberts said in a statement that did not distinguish between the program disclosed last year and the one reported yesterday. "Calls for further oversight are unnecessary. I remain convinced that the program authorized by the president is lawful and absolutely necessary to protect this nation from future attacks."
~SNIP~
One company that could get a marketing boost from the latest report is Qwest Communications. USA Today said Qwest rebuffed repeated requests to give up its call data and demanded legal assurances that the Justice Department would not provide. Some privacy advocates said Qwest's stance might win customers who are militant about protecting their privacy.
At least one lawmaker praised Qwest for resisting the surveillance.
"I have long been concerned about the NSA's domestic spying program and today's media reports only reinforce that concern," Senator Salazar, a Democrat of Colorado, said in a statement. "I also laud Denver-based Qwest communications for its decision not to share private information with the NSA."
May 12, 2006 Edition
http://www.nysun.com/pf.php?id=32643 |
_________________
“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” (Thomas Paine, 1776) |
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kate
Admin
Joined: 14 May 2004
Posts: 1891
Location: Upstate, New York
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| Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 10:03 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | Of course, USA Today delayed printing this story until the optimum time to negatively affect General Hayden's confirmation hearings. There is no longer any doubt about the MSM's complicity in increasing the threat to this country, |
Drudge says
http://www.drudgereport.com/
| Quote: | | USA TODAY reprints old story from NY TIMES? Published: December 24, 2005 Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove... |
? USA Today story may have recycled from an old NY Times story. I didn't check the full NT Times story at the Drudge link. USA Today may have polished it off / updated it some....just in time for Hayden's confirmation
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one of..... We The People |
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shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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| Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 3:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: | | ....just in time for Hayden's confirmation |
I agree, Kate. This is a maneuver by LSM/Dems to torpedo Hayden.
But I think their attempts to raise hysteria will backfire.
This latest poll shows most people favor NSA.
| Quote: | The new survey found that 63 percent of Americans said they found the NSA program to be an acceptable way to investigate terrorism, including 44 percent who strongly endorsed the effort. Another 35 percent said the program was unacceptable, which included 24 percent who strongly objected to it.
A slightly larger majority--66 percent--said they would not be bothered if NSA collected records of personal calls they had made, the poll found.
Underlying those views is the belief that the need to investigate terrorism outweighs privacy concerns. According to the poll, 65 percent of those interviewed said it was more important to investigate potential terrorist threats "even if it intrudes on privacy." Three in 10--31 percent--said it was more important for the federal government not to intrude on personal privacy, even if that limits its ability to investigate possible terrorist threats. |
Washington Post/ABC News Poll
And given the likely skewing of this ABC News poll, the numbers are probably even higher.
I look forward to the hearings. Hayden is a cool customer.
_________________
“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” (Thomas Paine, 1776) |
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BuffaloJack
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 10 Aug 2004
Posts: 1637
Location: Buffalo, New York
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| Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 4:25 pm Post subject: |
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This whole thing with the NSA and the phone calls is ridiculous. The NSA is doing the right thing and in the correct way. They aren't listening to conversations. They aren't even noting who is making the calls. They just have a number. This process is patterned after the way highway departments decide which roads need improvement or widening. They put down a rubber hose that goes to a switch and just counts cars. The don't know what cars, or who's driving, or even the license plates. They just count cars. The NSA is doing precisely the same thing. They are watching phone traffic patterns and counting calls to known al-Qaeda hot-spots overseas. Only if they note a change in traffic pattern activity do they even bother to trace the calls back, and then, when they know what line is making calls to al-Qaeda, do they get a warrant to actually tap a specific phone. Neither the NSA nor any other government agency has the staff or resources to listen to all those calls or even key words from those calls. And nobody on the planet has enough hard-drive or tape storage space to record all the calls.
General Hayden explained all this the other night to the press and they were too stupid and too pre-occupied with their own get-Bush agendas to even listen to the general. They made complete fools of themselves afterwards by asking questions that General Hayden had already answered in detail.
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Swift Boats - Qui Nhon (12/69-4/70), Cat Lo (4/70-5/70), Vung Tau (5/70-12/71) |
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Schadow
Vice Admiral
Joined: 30 Sep 2004
Posts: 936
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
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| Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 4:51 pm Post subject: |
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WARNING: ScrappleFace satire follows.
| Quote: | Congress to Scrap NSA, Create ‘Transparent’ Spy Agency
By Scott Ott, Editor-in-Chief, ScrappleFace.com
News Fairly Unbalanced. We Report. You Decipher.
(2006-05-12) — Concerned that the National Security Agency (NSA) may have violated the civil liberties of Americans by analyzing records of millions of phone calls to detect patterns that might indicate terrorist activity, a bipartisan coalition in Congress today will unveil legislation to scrap the NSA and replace it with a more ‘transparent’ spy agency.
According to language in the measure, the new intelligence unit, dubbed Open-Source Intelligence (OSI), will “harness the power of the internet to protect the right of the American people to know how their spy dollar is spent.”
“There’s nothing like sunshine to ensure accountability,” said an unnamed Congressional aide who spoke in exchange for a lobster dinner, a fine chianti and a $12 Macanudo cigar. “Just because the enemy is among us, using our telecommunications infrastructure to plot the next major attack, doesn’t mean the government can sneak around doing secret stuff simply to save a few thousand, or million, lives. We have rights.”
Under the terms of the bill, the OSI website will include a list of all covert agents, with photos, home addresses, email links and IM screennames. As the OSI gathers data, it will be accessible in real-time through the website to “premium subscribers,” but even non-members will be able to view the aggregated data, and listen to brief, sample clips of legally intercepted phone calls.” |
Source
Schadow
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Capt, 8th U.S. Army, Korea '53 - '54 |
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Deuce
Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined: 19 Mar 2005
Posts: 589
Location: FL
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| Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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I'm with you, BuffaloJack,
The headline:
| Quote: | | NSA Accused of Protecting U.S. From Terrorists |
should have read:
| Quote: | | Qwest Accused of Protecting Terrorists From Americans |
in any sane world!
Deuce |
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BuffaloJack
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Joined: 10 Aug 2004
Posts: 1637
Location: Buffalo, New York
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| Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 5:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Schadow wrote: | WARNING: ScrappleFace satire follows.
| Quote: | Congress to Scrap NSA, Create ‘Transparent’ Spy Agency
By Scott Ott, Editor-in-Chief, ScrappleFace.com
News Fairly Unbalanced. We Report. You Decipher.
(2006-05-12) — Concerned that the National Security Agency (NSA) may have violated the civil liberties of Americans by analyzing records of millions of phone calls to detect patterns that might indicate terrorist activity, a bipartisan coalition in Congress today will unveil legislation to scrap the NSA and replace it with a more ‘transparent’ spy agency.
According to language in the measure, the new intelligence unit, dubbed Open-Source Intelligence (OSI), will “harness the power of the internet to protect the right of the American people to know how their spy dollar is spent.”
“There’s nothing like sunshine to ensure accountability,” said an unnamed Congressional aide who spoke in exchange for a lobster dinner, a fine chianti and a $12 Macanudo cigar. “Just because the enemy is among us, using our telecommunications infrastructure to plot the next major attack, doesn’t mean the government can sneak around doing secret stuff simply to save a few thousand, or million, lives. We have rights.”
Under the terms of the bill, the OSI website will include a list of all covert agents, with photos, home addresses, email links and IM screennames. As the OSI gathers data, it will be accessible in real-time through the website to “premium subscribers,” but even non-members will be able to view the aggregated data, and listen to brief, sample clips of legally intercepted phone calls.” |
Source
Schadow |
Darned if this doesn't sound like a plan to scrap the United States and Constitution and replace it with a Caliphate and Sharia.
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Swift Boats - Qui Nhon (12/69-4/70), Cat Lo (4/70-5/70), Vung Tau (5/70-12/71) |
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shawa
CNO
Joined: 03 Sep 2004
Posts: 2004
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| Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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LOL. good one Schadow.
Given that the majority of Americans support the NSA operation, I find the actions of these congress-creatures sooooo laughable:
| Quote: | House Reps Intro Legislation to Kill Phone Records Data Mining
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) vowed to haul telephone companies before his committee under oath to ferret out details the Bush administration refuses to supply, and more than 50 House Democrats signed a letter demanding a criminal investigation by a special counsel.
In the House, Representatives Jane Harman (D-CA) and John Conyers (D-MI) immediately introduced a joint bill to kill the gargantuan database of U.S. citizens’ phone records.
http://www.knx1070.com/pages/34943.php? |
WHAT A PLAN!!
They will [b]kill the the data mining program and risk terrorists killing us. But damn, they are protecting our PHONE NUMBERS! What heroes!!
They think this is going to win them control of the Congress?? LOL.
_________________
“I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the business of little minds to shrink; but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death.” (Thomas Paine, 1776) |
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Schadow
Vice Admiral
Joined: 30 Sep 2004
Posts: 936
Location: Huntsville, Alabama
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| Posted: Fri May 12, 2006 6:12 pm Post subject: |
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| shawa wrote: | | In the House, Representatives Jane Harman (D-CA) and John Conyers (D-MI) immediately introduced a joint bill to kill the gargantuan database of U.S. citizens’ phone records. |
Me#1You#10 quoted a NY Sun editorial about the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act of 1994 which passed both Democrat-controlled Houses of Congress and was signed by Clinton. A portion of the Sun editorial follows:
| Quote: | | The law that President Clinton signed into law and that was approved by voice votes in 1994 by a Democrat-majority House and a Democrat-majority Senate not only made clear the phone companies' "duty" to cooperate, it authorized $500 million in taxpayer funds to reimburse the phone companies for equipment "enabling the government, pursuant to a court order or other lawful authorization, to access call-identifying information that is reasonably available to the carrier." Again, the law, by referring to "other lawful authorization," states clearly that a court order isn't the only form of lawful authorization possible. |
As Rush pointed out this morning, most of the gasbag Congresspersons who are bleating now to end this 'travesty' voted for this very procedure in 1994. So much for institutional memory.
Schadow
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Capt, 8th U.S. Army, Korea '53 - '54 |
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